Search query: Illinois

Credit: scdd.ca.gov Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has introduced and passed AB-241, which writes a “Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights” into law. This is Ammiano's second try at such a bill, which attempts to solve the problem of low wages and unfavorable working conditions. According to the bill: “Domestic workers usually work alone, behind closed doors, and out of the public eye, leaving them isolated, vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by some employers, and unable to advocate

When Illinois became the last state in the country to adopt concealed carry, many on both sides were left unsatisfied. Chicago grandfathered in its assault weapons ban. Other towns of at least 25,000 had ten days to enact their own bans under home-rule provision. The exclusion of an assault weapons ban was one of the points of contention that led to Governor Pat Quinn's initial veto of the legislation. As one of the country's most violent cities, such bans and strict laws carry much weight in I

anthonyturducken / Flickr Last week, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a magistrate judge's 2010 ruling that made cell phone data constitutionally protected from government intrusion under the Fourth Amendment. Cell phone data refers to calls, texts, emails, voicemails, photographs, Internet usage, and GPS tracking systems. Whenever a call is made from a cellular device, the carrier knows where the call is coming from. It needs to know this information in order to relay the si

Henryk Sadura / shutterstock.com Although there is still more than a year before Illinoisans begin casting ballots for governor, US Senate, and other offices, Illinois Libertarian Party Candidate Lupe Diaz will be making his case for Illinois' highest office. A former Libertarian Party (LP) chairman, Diaz used his announcement to target both major parties. Saying that the state is "in a helpless morass of debt due to fiscal mismanagement," Diaz began making his case that more electoral choices

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has exercised his pen-wielding hand to officially sign the state’s medical marijuana pilot program into law, which supporters are claiming is the strictest of its kind in the entire nation. The law in question doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2014, but rule making for the medical marijuana pilot program isn’t slated to be completed until the end of April 2014.  So, even though Governor Quinn has signed the bill, it could be as late as next summer before qualifyin

Henryk Sadura / shutterstock.com Nearly a month after the Illinois General Assembly overrode Governor Pat Quinn's veto of the state's long-awaited concealed carry law, one lawmaker is attempting to add an amendment. Illinois was the last state to enact a concealed carry law and the latest attempt to alter it is a state senator's campaign to ban concealed weapons from houses of worship. State Sen. Dan Kotowski, a suburban Chicago Democrat and a one-time gun control lobbyist, first floated the i

(Credit: WSIL) Choosing to leave his seat in the Illinois General Assembly, State Representative Mike Bost is hoping to capture Illinois' 12th congressional district in Washington. He is challenging incumbent Bill Enyart, a Democrat who is in his first term. Bost, a southern Illinois Republican who has served in the Illinois House since 1995, will formally announce his candidacy in Belleville on Monday. To date, Bost is the first major Republican to announce for the seat. During his tenure in

(Credit: Durbin.senate.gov) Following the verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial, Illinois US Senator Dick Durbin is seeking to re-examine the Stand Your Ground laws that were associated with the killing of Trayvon Martin. A statement from Durbin's office last Friday declared the Senator's intention to hold hearings with officials from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Both organizations have been involved in the drafting of self-defen

What Are You Paying For With Your Tax Dollars? In early July, it was reported that the Pentagon had spent $34-million on an unused military base in Afghanistan.  It was originally supposed to be used as its headquarters.  But as the US now starts to withdraw troops, the building may soon be demolished without ever being used.  It has come to show how bloated the Pentagon's budget really is and how much money they tend to waste.  But that's not where it stops.  The government wastes money in eve

Rule number one in effective communication is to establish the relevancy of the topic to the audience. Why should they care? How does it affect their quality of life? Truthful accounting might do just that. For one measure of the states’ quality of life, we turn to the recent work done by Ballotpedia, a “collaborative encyclopedia designed to connect people to politics.” The site focuses on providing a comprehensive and non-partisan analysis of numerous candidates and political efforts. The Lu